The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-02-12
ROBBERY AND ME-.
From Harper's Bazaar.

From Hnrper's Bazaar.
It's just bit OF story, sir, that
don't 9iud much to strangers, but
I'd likl o tell you about it. il you have
time to listen, for they've all forgotten
Robbery down here, except me; they're
poor folks, you see, and things drift
out of folks heads when poverty
drifts in.
Robbery? Yes, sir that was his
name, least-ways the name we gave
him down here. As to father or
mother, he never had any, | think;
never had any one in the wide world
to belong to except our two selves,
Robbery and me. was the elder, two
long years older than him; but then |
was blind, you see, so the two years
didn't count so much, and Robbery
got ahead of me after the time when
the long days OF pain slipped into lone
night, and God shut me out OF the
world, not that | grumble, sir; I've
given over that, and Robbery was al
ways such u cook lad to me that per-
haps | didn't miss so much after all.
| grew to fancy things and make be-
leve saw great deal, particularly
after Robbery took to working at his
trade, shoe-black, sir; and sometimes,
when ! became accustomed to being
always in the dark, | went out with
Robbery and held the money that he
made.
Well, not much, perhaps, but enough
for us Two. and the little room we had
down ut Kingston, over against the
river; only Robbery was an extrava-
CANT lad not in drink, sir, we were al
ways sober lot, but in oranges.
They were almost his ruin, sir, those
oranges. He use to come up stars
sucking them softly, so that | might
not hear, and thinking to deceive me;
but | somehow smet oranges, and 1t
always made me sharper to catch
Robbery whistling little tunes to him
self on the way up, just to put me OH:
He made u great deal OF me, did
Robbery, aloEg OF being blind, you
see, and so did the neighbors; but |
was rare proud of him. You don't
know what it is. sir, to sit alone in
the dark all day, and then, on a sud
den, to hear u fellow call out, Here
we are again! Come down and feel
the sun set, and we'll count the cop.
pers." 1t would make you love any
one, sir, who had a vo'ce like that,
let alone fellow like Robbery
Perhaps you didn't happen to be
in Kingston, sir, last spring, when
the floods had risen and the land
was under water for miles around.
Robbery had to wade n little going
down to his work, but he rather liked
it he SAID; and he used to tuck up his
trousers and call back to me and
laugh as the water crept around his
feet and he said folks wouldn want
their boots BACKED, he feared, for the
water would soon take of the polish.
used to sit on the window-sill to
feel the sun, and il listened very hard
/ could hear the ripple-ripple OF the
shallow water at every step that Bob
berry made, and it had pleasant
sound. and made a kind of company
feeling but when he was out OF hear
ng,and it still kept ripping up against
our walls the company feeling went
away and lett me lonely, because it
lay for so very long between me and
Robbery.
Well, once | was sitting alone on the
window-sill and the day was very qui-
ct, so quiet that ] grew frightened at
last, and stretched out my hands
across the sill to feel my way down. |
felt something that made me shiver
and draw back out OF the sunlight;
that made my whole dark life grow
suddenly a beautiful and precious
thing; felt the water ripping almost
up to the level OF the sill, and | was
quite alone, and Robbery would new
er know.
Ibid not call out or go mad with
fright, rs Thought at first | might do;
only | crept away in my everlasting
darkness from the warm sunlight and
sat down on the bed where Robbery
and slept together, and put my
hands over my ears to shut out the
roar OF the waters.
How long | sat there | don't know,
but think it must have been for
hours, for / felt the sunlight on my
face and the waters rushing round me
before moved again. was hungry,
too, but when | tried to get down and
reach the cupboard the water took
me of my feet and / crept back to the
bed and on to the shelves of the dress
er to be out OF the way. said
my prayers two or three times. and |
anid some nraYers for Robbery. too.